


Something Different, Something Bold

by orphan_account



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alcohol, Angst, Dean Ships It, Drunk Sam, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Smut
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-30
Updated: 2016-06-17
Packaged: 2018-05-17 05:45:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 9,066
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5856466
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Eileen goes back to the bunker with Sam one night, and then some.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Sam's woken up by the bright lights from the halls as he turns over. Normally the moonlight would be the only light going through his window, where he's be able to see just enough to move around. He feels around the bed sleepily until he notices that there's nothing but a vacant dent right next to him. He sits up instinctively and begins to panic until he hears a toilet flush from down the hall. A moment later, he hears a faucet run followed by the sound of light footsteps getting closer to his room. Immediately his shoulders relax as he sees her silhouette at his bedroom door. 

"Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up," Eileen says when she sees that he's awake. Sam notices that the only thing Eileen's wearing is the flannel he had on earlier that day and immediately gapes at how delicious her soft curves look as she closes the door and walks toward her side of the bed.

"S'okay," Sam both replies and signs back, still sleepy. He rubs some sleep out of his eye as he comments "You look good," with a toothy smile. 

Eileen blushes a little as she's snuggling back towards Sam. "Yeah, sorry about your shirt, I had to pee and I couldn't find the light. I just grabbed it quickly." At this point, they're as close as they can be with their legs and arms re-entwined while still being able to see each other's faces. "I promise I'll iron it first thing in the morning," Eileen offers with a sheepish smile as her hands begin to roam gingerly on Sam's arms. 

"Haha, don't worry about it," Sam says, still offering his heart-stopping smile. "You make it look so much better than I ever can," he speaks as he moves his hand around her waist and pulls her in to close the remaining space there was in between. Her head fits perfectly under his chin, and he feels her gentle breath warm on his bare chest. 

"I mean, yes, I'm not arguing that," he hears Eileen reply. He laughs at this beautiful, witty girl's sense of humor. "I'm just saying sorry for taking it without asking first. I wouldn't want to upset you. You might be territorial, I don't know."

Knowing full well that she wouldn't be able to read his lips if he were to respond to her now, he traced a giant smiley face on her soft back with a gentle finger. She returned a giggle and squeezed into him harder before she fell asleep again. 

Looking at the time, the clock said he only had three hours left but he felt like he could be in this moment forever. 


	2. Chapter 2

_Brrrrr! Brrrr! Brrrr!_

Sam's alarm clock immediately goes off at 6:30a.m. He completely forgot to turn if off the night before, but as he remembers, he and Eileen was otherwise busy when they entered his room. He starts moving quickly across Eileen's body that was wrapped around his torso so he wouldn't wake her, but then he remembers that she's deaf. With a chuckling relief, he finally reaches the snooze button on the alarm and lays back, awake. 

Sam looks down at Eileen's still-sleeping face. Her eyebrows are drawn into a slight furrow with a hint of pursed lips, but she looks otherwise calm. He thinks about the weird, semi-aggressive growl she made a couple of times throughout the night and the one time she scared him awake when her forearm crashed down on his chest, but he feels nothing but complete hunter understanding and a slight amusement if he was being honest. He only hopes that he didn't do anything embarrassing or even dangerous himself while he slept that might've scared her.

As he starts to slowly and carefully move away from the bed and Eileen's surprisingly strong hold, he starts thinking about breakfast. Normally, he'd go into the kitchen and start making coffee for him and Dean before he goes out for his morning run. But he doesn't know when Eileen usually wakes up, and he doesn't want to be gone when she does because she might take off before he returns.

 _We have eggs_ , Sam thinks as he's pulling on some sweat pants. _I_ _just bought bacon during the last grocery run. Hopefully we still have some pancake mix left._  As he bends down to look for his sandals under the bed, he begins to hear a faint buzz. He looks up to see a sleepy Eileen slowly open her eyes.

"Oh, sorry, did I wake you?" Sam whispers, unsatisfied with himself for not being able to keep quiet for someone who can't hear. "Go back to sleep", he signs slowly, "I'm just going to the kitchen real quick." 

"No, it's okay", Eileen said sitting up now. "I always put my alarm on to wake me up at 6:33a.m." she says as she brings out her vibrating phone from under her pillow. 

"Oh," Sam responds, both a little relieved and defeated. He leans down on the bed and starts to crawl over to Eileen, showing signs of amusement and confusion. "Why at 6:33?" He asks as he gets extremely close to her face, eyes bouncing to her smiling lips.

"Because," she says, "half-hour marks are institutionalized times set by society for no necessary reason other than to stress us out. And I refuse to obey." She leaned a centimeter closer into Sam, grazing noses with him.

"Yeah?" Sam said, backing away, just enough so her eyes can read his lips. "You like breaking rules, Eileen?" Sam signs, seduction on his lips and tease in his eyes, his mind immediately going back to where it was last night.

 At this point, Eileen suddenly invades his space and pushes him back down on the bed as she rolls on top of him. "I guess I do," she signs back as she bends her head down and crashes her lips hot against his, grinding down on his body with hers. But, without giving him enough time to react, she swings her leg over and is suddenly on her feet. "So we're going to the kitchen?" she asks as she's picking up her jeans and flipping them inside out how they were supposed to be. She looks over at Sam, expecting him to be saying something at the moment, but he's just sitting there, staring at her with shock and a hot blush on his face. "What's wrong?" she asks, feigning innocence as she buttons her jeans. "Cat got your tongue?" she continues. His face blushes a little harder as he blinks his way back to Earth and Eileen continues her monologue. "Not that I'd really be able to tell, you know, since I'm deaf." She's clasping her bra on. "For all I know, you might be mute and you've just been mouthing words to me this whole time. That's happened before." Sam's face has turned into an impressed smirk. 

"I'm not mute," he responds, getting off of the bed. "And I'm going to get you for that," he promises as he heads to the door just as they both finish pulling on a shirt over their heads. "Now let's go get some food, Catwoman," he says as he offers her his hand.

As they walk in the kitchen with their hands in each other's, they see Dean with his head resting in his arms on top the counter right in front of the working coffee maker. 

"Morning," Sam says, jerking Dean awake from his mini siesta. 

"Morning," he responds back. He turns to look at Sam when he notices Eileen with him. "Heey..." Dean's facial expressions go through confusion, surprise, understanding, pride, and perv all in the span of two seconds before he continues. "Hey, Eileen," he tries again. "Joining us for some breakfast?" he asked with an amused look on his face as she sits down at the dining table while Sam moves to the fridge.

"Yeah, if you don't mind," Eileen responds, knowing all too well what the morning was going to bring. Dean sits down at the table with her as if he's going to say something, but instead ends up nodding his head at whatever silent commentary is going on in his head as he continues to trade off a smirking look between Eileen and Sam. Sam looks up from the fridge at his brother and rolls his eyes as he pulls out the eggs and butter. 

"Dude-" Sam starts. 

"I didn't say anything!" Dean interrupts defensively.

"You don't need to!" Sam responds back, shooting an embarrassed look at Eileen before focusing his attention on the food. "Come help me with the food, Dean. I'll do the eggs, you can do the pancakes." 

"Whoa, you're eating real food for breakfast?" Dean says as he makes his way to turn on the stove top. 

"What are you talking about, we eat breakfast every day," Sam says, cracking eggs into a mixing bowl. He turns to Eileen and signs, "Do you like omelettes?" She signs back an eager yes.

"No, _I_ eat cereal every day. _You_ drink that weird hippy horse snot," Dean continues the conversation as he pulls down the pancake mix from the cabinet.

"It's a kale smoothie. It's part of my juice cleanse and you know it," Sam says as he returns to the fridge to pull out some veggies, cheeses, and hams, which he sets all in front of Eileen to choose from what she wants. "Also, I made breakfast last week!" Sam continues the conversation with his brother, who's gone back into the fridge to pull out some mini chocolate chips as Sam begins chopping up some red bell peppers once Eileen made her choices.

"Yeah, but that was so... last week, Sammy," Dean says as he holds the Nestle mini chocolate chips up to Eileen, who's eager approval got her some excited finger-guns from Dean. "All I'm saying is that if you're doing all of this to impress our lovely guest this morning," Dean says as he turns to make eye contact with Eileen, "then I hope you're around a lot more, Eileen," Dean tells her with a wink. Eileen let's out a hearty laugh while Sam seems to have lowered his face to focus on dicing some veggies up more than the usual, not showing the soft blush that strangely developed as well as the soft smile.

"Okay," Eileen speaks up. "So what do I do?" she asks as she pulls her hair up in a ponytail and heads towards the sink to wash her hands. 

"No, I think we got it," Sam turns to look at her. "You should sit and relax, I don't want to make you work," he signs with a smile. 

"I can do something, Sam," she says with an eye roll. "I'm deaf, not incompetent."

"No, I didn't-, that's not what I-" Sam starts to struggle with his words. Eileen couldn't hear it because his back was turned as he worked on the first couple of pancakes, but Dean mimicked the whistle of an airplane followed by the boom of its crash, earning him one of Sam's branded bitch-faces. "No, babe, that's not what I meant," Sam started again. "I just thought we'd treat you, since you're my guest," Sam says, struggling to remember the sign for "guest" and ending up spelling it. He moves closer to Eileen, leaving the stove to close some of the the large space between them as he signs, "I thought you'd want to just enjoy the morning." He follows it up with steady eye contact and a gentle hold to her face, followed by an allowed soft kiss. 

When he pulls back, Eileen's face goes from blissful to to a feigned suspicious one, which leads Sam to follow up with, "but if you want, you're right, I could use help with the bacon." 

"Yeah, I could help with that," Eileen nods back whole-heartedly to thoughtful Sam. 

"Perfect," Sam signs with relief and another quick peck to her cheek. 

"We're cooking up some _bacon_ , too?" Dean says after he turns around to face them in disbelief. "Oh, Eileen, we can get my car afterwards and move you in by lunch!" 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't know I was going to continue this, I just can't stop thinking about this ship! I hope y'all can enjoy it :)


	3. Chapter 3

Eileen is exhausted. 

She drops her weapon bag on the floor and makes her way to the bathroom to begin cleaning up the mess she became that night. 

 _It_ had _to be raining_ , she thinks as she sees the mud her shoes track in her motel room before she remembers to take them off. She's going to have to buy more Pine-Sol soon.  _They_ had _to be ghosts that only appeared during the first Santa Cruz rain of the year._

As she moves her way into the bathroom to draw a well-deserved bubble bath, she stops in front of the mirror to check out the damages. She already knew she was bruising on her left side of her torso when one of the hippie ghosts threw her into a giant redwood tree. She grimaces at the surprising gash across her forehead that was crusting with dark blood, though. She can't remember how or when she got it, she just thought it was sweat that she was wiping from her face. She has mud all over her body and a couple of leaves in her hair as well, and her eye was bruised, but is otherwise okay.

Once she gets some water running, she adds scented bubbly soap. She then starts undressing as fast as her sore muscles allow her to before she sees the light of her cell phone shine through her pants pocket. She smiles at what the notification might be. She tries to quickly wash her grimy hands before she grabs for her phone. 

[Text] Sam:  **Hey, how's your night been so far? :)**

[Text] Eileen:  **Tiring**  

She replies with an emphasized huff.

[Text] Eileen:  **But not so bad now that you've texted :P**

 _Eww, when did I turn eleven again_ , Eileen thinks as she regrets that sent text already. A new notification comes in as she begins to set herself in the filling bathtub and undoes her ponytail.  

[Text] Sam:  **Ahh, long day at the motel today? Did you have to deal with another puke stain?**   

Now, Eileen's not saying that Sam Winchester is the best guy on the entire planet, she just thinks he's really cool for remembering little details that she's mentioned in casual conversation. 

[Text] Eileen:  **Haha no, no puke stains during the day job today. But I did run into a bunch of college kids running in the rain BUCK NAKED right before I started a ghost hunt tonight. I don't really know what was going on, but I never went to college so what do I know. Haha California gets weirder every time.**

At this point, even with minimal movement in the tub, the water quickly begins to change to a murky light brown. Eileen notes how satisfying it is to see that all the dirt and blood of the night are slowly coming off of her and dissolving into the water. Her phone vibrates again.

[Text] Sam:  **Wait, what are you talking about? What ghost hunt??**

 _Oh, I can't wait to tell him about it_ , Eileen thinks.  _I wonder how he'll react when I tell him about the random cat shrines in the middle of the woods. Santa Cruz is weird._

[Text] Eileen:  **Yeah, I worked a job tonight! It was pretty cool bc halfway through my flashlight died 'cuz the ghost messed with it, but I still managed to scare the ghosts out of their death echoes within the hour. Nbd I'm pretty bad ass. The funniest part was I was stumbling through the woods for about 15 mins afterwards until I bumped into a group of college kids, stoned/drunk out of their minds. They led me back to the main road, completely unphased by the blood**

[Text] Eileen:   **Haha one boy asked me about my machete though, I told him it was to help cut the negativity out of the woods. I still don't know what I meant to mean haha.**

A reply quickly came in.

[Text] Sam:  **Wait, WHAT????? Why were you working a job, weren't you in California to visit a friend??? Did you work the job alone or was your friend somewhere helping you??? How much blood is there, do you need any med help??? Oh my god Eileen, WHAT???**

Eileen became confused with Sam's direction of conversation. 

[Text] Eileen: **Hey Sam, relax I'm okay. I already told you, I prefer working alone, so I was alone. I did come to see a friend, but I noticed the job a couple of days ago so I ditched her for tonight (Alibi was a tinder hookup, lol) to get to the woods in time cuz the ghosts only came out during the first rain of the town. There's a campus tradition for that apparently, and the two girls were victims of murder in the woods that day. RIP them tho**

She wasn't expecting Sam to sound so worried about the situation, he does know she's a hunter, after all. On the other hand, she's glad he cares about her well-being. She appreciates how good it feels having someone worry about you even just a little when you're in the hunter's line of work. 

[Text] Sam: **Hey, can we Skype?**

[Text] Eileen: **I'm taking a bubble bath rn. That'd be inappropriate, dont you think**

[Text] Sam:  **...yeah, I guess it would. And we wouldn't want to be inappropriate, right? You in the bathtub, me in my bedroom...**

Eileen begins blushing at Sam's not-so-subtle hints. She remembers when she first met him, his person was so professional and semi-reserved that most people wouldn't guess how sexually charged he can really be. 

[Text] Eileen: **I'm signing in right now ',:)**

After waiting two minutes for her mobile data to connect, ready to give up on the world, the screen went from displaying “connecting” to a picture of Sam right in front of the camera reading from an old book. _What kind of asshole make a simple plain white shirt look so good?_ she thinks. Eileen makes sure to point her front camera to her face and keep her goods under the soapy water before she calls out to him.

“Hey, Sam,” she smiles automatically.

He looks up when he hears her, not knowing the connection finally went through. “Hey, Eileen.” What begins as a reciprocated smile slowly turns into a focusing frown instead. “Jesus, Eileen, your forehead,” Sam says, concerned frustration reading all over his face. “How did that happen?” Sam signs. _Awe, he’s been practicing, he’s getting better._

“This?” Eileen says pointing to her forehead, knowing full well what he’s talking about. “I honestly don’t know how I got it. But it looks worse than it feels”, she says with a passive raise of her eyebrows. “I didn’t notice it until I got back.”

“Are you joking? It looks horrible, E!” his hands respond, slowing down a little with the added urgent concern. “You need to get that checked, do you need money to check into a hospital? Because I can transfer you money right now. Actually, what’s your acc-“

“No, Sam,” Eileen calls for his attention because his hands were getting more difficult to read, but what she was following was adding to a confusing, overwhelming feeling. “I’m good, I can handle it, all it needs is a little first aid attention. I’m just going to wash it up and bandage it myself,” she says dismissively, hoping to move on from the conversation.

“It looks like you need stitches,” Sam signs, spelling out s-t-i-t-c-h-e-s.

“No, I don’t need stitches,” she responds, demonstrating the sign for him. A mirroring frustration begins to develop with her as well. “It’s just a scratch. But if I did, I know how to do that too. C’mon, Sam, this isn’t my first hunt.”

“Yeah, I know,” Sam responds, refusing to lighten up on the interrogation for some reason. “But you could've still gone with backup. You could've asked me, Eileen, I would’ve gone with you. What if something would’ve happened to you tonight? I mean, c’mon! You’re on the west coast, taking on a hunt in the middle of some woods at night by yourself! You could've gotten yourself really hurt! Or even killed!”

Suddenly Eileen feels like she did when she was in middle school: judged and unheard. It was too much to take in so unexpectedly. With his sudden questioning mode and the early stages of video-lagging effects, Eileen decides she needs a breather. “Whoa, Sam!” Eileen cuts Sam off, surprising herself at how loud she must’ve projected her voice. “My connection’s going bad right now,” she says, calming herself down and doing her best to regulate her volume for Sam’s sake, she has no idea how loud she can get. “I can’t read your signs, I keep misinterpreting them. Because I'm getting the signals that you're mad at me about something? Even though I'd have no idea why, considering I did my job today, and I did it really well. But even if I hadn't finished the job well today, I still wouldn't feel bad because I know I don't owe anyone an explanation, Sam Winchester. Especially not you." Eileen is fuming, completely forgetting to think about her voice volume.  "Anyways, I need to go, I’ve had a long day today and I really need to clean up.” Sam's face is no longer in a frown, but has turned completely white with surprise and regret, but it was too late. Before Sam has a chance to respond, Eileen finishes the video session with, “I’ll talk to you later when I find time.” The last thing she sees before she hangs up the conversation is Sam wave his arms to call her attention.

Before she has the chance to put her phone down, Sam tries to video-call her back. She rejects it. He tries once more, which she rejects again.

Suddenly a text comes in. Despite the fact that Eileen is now boiling with unexpected rage, she opens the text.

[Text] Sam: **Wait E don’t go! I’m sorry, I overreacted you're completely right but let’s talk about it I’ll be cooler I promise**

After a minute of nothing:

[Text] Sam: **Hey Eileen pls I didn’t mean to offend you I just got really worried, I didn’t like the thought of you being hurt and alone and so far away. I know that sounds undermining but I didn’t mean it like that and I’m sorry just talk to me E please you're right, just give me a chance to fix this**

Then another.

[Text] Sam: **Eileen noooo pls don’t ignore me right now I’m sorry, sincerely and wholly sorry let’s talk just a bit more I miss you I’m sorry**

She thought she wasn’t going to answer, but she’s been wrong before.

[Text] Eileen: **Oh okay so both of our connections were bad, huh? Bc it seems like you didn’t get that last part I told you. I can’t talk to you rn Sam. I honestly don’t know where all this came from but now we’re here so if you respect me then you’re going to leave me alone until I can talk with you again.**

Her anger begins to mix with hurt at how easy it was for him to begin this rampage in the first place. She didn’t think she had to prove herself with him too like she did with everyone else; she thought he got her. But it’s her fault, she knew better with the fact that some people, even the best of them, will simply always see her differently.

As she wipes away a small dab of a tear that began to unnoticeably develop, another text comes through.

[Text] Sam: **Ok, ok, I hear you. This is the last one, I promise. I just want to tell you that I’m sorry, and that I didn’t mean this night to end this way. Ok, I’ll leave you alone now, I swear. But when you can talk to me again, just… do, please. Talk to me as soon as you can, whenever that may be.**

She silences her phone and gently tosses it on the floor mat before she goes back to focusing on her bath, which had suddenly become too dirty to enjoy.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Feel free to leave comments or criticism!)


	4. Chapter 4

A week has passed and still Eileen hasn't found the courage to text Sam. Every time something reminds her about him, like a big dog that would make him stop walking to go pet or the smell of anything "woodsy" like his cologne, she reached for her phone. But then she remembers about the last time they spoke and how incapable he made her feel. 

 _Get over it, girl_ , Eileen huffs at herself as she rips off the old sheets of a hotel room that is now vacant. _You've never needed anyone's approval. Especially not from a self-righteous, overgrown boy. You're a badass hunter. You've taken down countless monsters all by yourself. You're so cute you rock this ugly mustard maid outfit. He missed out on a great person._ She nods at herself as she passes in front of mirror for self-solidarity. 

 _But,_ she responds to herself as she gets the clean bedsheets,  _he did apologize. He sounded sincere. He's probably never talked to a deaf person before._

_He took ASL in college, you dork._

_Okay, but that doesn't necessarily mean anything. And it was so long ago. Good people can make mistakes. God knows I do. Sam is a good person, that much I know. If he's willing to learn then that's all I can ask for._

_Okay, but I'm not putting up with blatant disrespect. If he does that again, I'm done with him._

_Agreed._

Eileen looks down at her perfectly made bed.  _Perfect,_ she smirks, pleased with herself. 

Suddenly she feels a thud on the ground behind her. She turns around to see a flash of blue before she feels a hard blow to the side of her head. Before she has a chance to reach for her knife, she is hit one more time and completely clocks out.


	5. Chapter 5

With a brownbag full of soggy tacos, Dean heads into the library.

“I’m back!” Dean calls out to Sam, who he walks in on chugging down half a bottle of beer. Not reacting quickly enough, Sam removes the bottle from his lips with only a child’s sip left before he wipes his mouth with the back of his hand.

“Hey,” Sam responds.

Pausing for a second, Dean moves a little slower as he sits at the table in front of Sam. He notices the other two empty beer bottles on the table next to Sam’s laptop and open books.

“Hey,” he says cautiously, peering at Sam. “Where’s the party?” he asks eyeing the bottles. He moves Sam’s laptop away and replaces its spot with the fast food. Dean was only gone for 35 minutes getting them lunch, it’s not like Sam to drink this amount at one in the afternoon. He considers putting the beers he grabbed from the kitchen on the ground but instead places them on the table, a little closer to himself.

Sam gives a little shrug as he leans back, completely relaxed. “What do you mean? A grown man can’t have a drink once in a while, Dean?” He blinks slowly, with just a hint of glaze over his eyes. “That’s a little hypocritical, don’t you think?” Sam offers with a sarcastic smirk.

Dean knows that Sam has already hit tipsy because Sam is starting with his snappy attitude. 

“Nah, man, I’m not saying you can’t drink,” Dean says, patient and curious at the situation in front of him. This is the first time this whole week Sam has really talked to Dean. He’s been either locked in his room or buried in a book. Dean thought he was just busying himself with Hand-of-God homework like he was, but maybe now it’s something different. “I’m just wondering why, Sammy. I mean, you gotta admit it’s not like you, not at this time,” Dean offers, casualty in his voice as to not scare the situation at hand. 

Sam's nonchalant expression slowly turns into a concerned frown. He looks up at his brother without any focus as he straightens up in his chair again. "Dean, you're right. I'm so sorry, brother, I don't know what I was thinking, I should be working." He drops his head into his hands as he starts to get anxious. "Jesus, I just keep messing everything up, don't I?"  

"Whoa, whoa, relax Sam," Dean interrupts, head spinning from Sam's emotional whiplash. "Where is this coming from, Sam? What did you mess up?" 

Sam just shakes his head still held up by his hands. "Nothing, Dean, just... nothing. It's not important."

"Of course, it's important, Sam, or else it wouldn't leave you into such a drunk mess. Talk to me, Sammy, what's going on?" Dean asks. 

No response. "Is it Cas, Sam?" Dean asks, a little quieter. "Is he- Did Lucifer get rid of him or something?" A thousand thoughts run through Dean's head as he stops breathing for a second, just thinking about all the different possible outcomes that Cas created for himself when he agreed to be the devil's vessel. 

"No, it's not about Cas, Dean," Sam offers, not looking up to know his brother let oxygen back into his lungs. "It's not about Cas or Amara or anything that can help us at all. I'm just overreacting. I just need to get my-" 

"Hey, Sammy!" Dean barked loud enough to make drunk Sam jump. "Can you stop for a second, man? Talk to me!"

"Dean, there's n-"

"Sam," Dean says a lot calmer, "what'sa matter?"

Sam sits for there for a moment shaking his head before he quietly decides to respond.

"It's Eileen. She hasn't talked to me in two weeks." His eyes nervously lock with Dean's before he looks away again.

"...Eileen?" Dean finally responds.

"She was the hunter that-"

"No, yeah, I know who she is, Sam. She came to the bunker almost every day for about two weeks after that banshee hunt. We bonded over mini wiener dogs, I remember her fine." Dean shakes his head in an effort to clear his head to fully understand what Sam was saying. "Is she in trouble?" Dean asks, already lifting off his chair. Sam's sad headshake stops him and sits him back down. "So what is it, Sammy, she broke up with you or what?" Sam gives the smallest of shrugs. "Jeez Sammy," Dean says, both relieved and surprised that something so miniscule would bump Sam into a drinking frenzy. Then again, Sam hasn't really had a healthy lasting relationship with someone in a long time, if ever. "I didn't even know you guys were a thing. I mean I know you guys hooked up but I didn't know it was something serious."

"It wasn't!" Sam exclaims . "Or it was? I don't know, man," he says, slumping back in his chair again completely miserable. "I just... I really like her. She's funny and so smart, Dean," a faraway smile falls on his drunk lips. "God, she's so smart and funny. And she's beautiful, Dean. And she's really nice and she listens to me, too. And she's a great hunter, Dean. Even you liked her! And since when have you liked anyone I was friends with? She just gets... everything, Dean." Sam's smile begins to fade. "And I fucked it all up, 'cuz I'm an idiot. FUCK!" 

"Hey, hey!" Dean cannot believe the drunk drama episode Sam was playing. The last time Sam spilled his drunken guilt-ridden heart out, Sam was turning into a demon. "Jesus, Sam, would you calm down? Everything's fine, just give her a video call and figure it out, you don't-"

"I can't call her, Dean, she told me to never call her again!" Sam's voice lowers into an unsteady baritone range. "You should've seen her, Dean, the last time we talked. She was caked in blood, and some mud. She had this giant gash," Sam motions without coordination, "straight through her forehead. Her left eye was barely open and she just had these bruises all over her arms and chest. I didn't even get a chance to see the rest of her because I freaked out. She looked so hurt and she was alone hunting these hippie ghosts on the other side of the country-"

"Hippie ghosts?" Dean interrupts.

Sam sighs. "I don't know, she didn't tell me what happened because I annoyed her with all my questions or som'thing! It was my fault, I shouldn't have talked to her like that, I should've given her space, she looked so tired. But I was just so worried and now I won't ever know if she's okay." Sam looks up at Dean with honest worry. "What if something happens to her and I never get to see her again? Or what if I just never get to see her again?"

Dean doesn't know where to start. 

"Sam, listen, I know that worrying is a part of having a crush on someone, but Eileen's a tough cookie, alright? I'm sure she's fine." Dean says, surprising calmness in his voice. _Only Sammy would_ , he thinks as he internally rolls his eyes. He lets Sam slowly nod in his direction to indicate that he heard him before he continues. "And Eileen is a great girl, Sammy, she is, I get that. She's one of those rare ones that get it. But dude," Dean says completely serious now, "don't ever get so hung up on a girl like this, okay? You're a grown man and we have work to do. If she wants to be with you, that's great. In fact, that'd be freakin' awesome because she's that cool. But if she doesn't, you gotta respect that, little brother."

"I do, Dean! I promise, I'm not talking to her, I'm leaving her alone. I just... I don't want to. But you're right," Sam says with a serious nod. "If she never talks to me again, that's her choice. I hafta respect that, even if I hate it and I want her to be my friend." 

"Oh God," Dean lets out, completely mortified at the Sam in front of him. "When did you turn into such a little bitch?"

"The day after you became a grade-A jerk." 

Dean just stares at Sam for a while, completely grossed out at the sight. Sam just sits there for about two minutes staring at the wall directly in front of him before letting out a sigh.

"Okay, this was enough fun," Dean mumbles. "So did you wanna go out and really get drunk, Sam? Because we can do that. 'Cuz sittin' here at the dining table with the research out... this isn't cute, Sam, it's pathetic," he says with a face.

"No, no, I can't," Sam says, shaking his head a little too hard. "There's still a lot of work I need to do, I'm behind, if anything." 

"Okay well, you're useless right now, Sam, sorry. So at least go get the HDMI cable from my room and we'll finish the last season of Game of Thrones, will ya? I'll work on the research at the same time, I promise," Dean says like the liar that he is. 

After pausing for a second to think about it, Sam agrees with a nod and a verbal "okay". As Dean stands to grab Sam's laptop and paperwork for the faux work he'll be doing, Sam stands up to grab the bag of cold food. 

"Ouch," Dean hears Sam say. As he turns around, Dean sees him reach into his pockets and pull out four empty mini-vodka bottles. Sam looks up at and gives a sheepish shrug as his only explanation.

"My God, Captain Sparrow, and you say I'm an alcoholic."

 

~-~

 

Two episodes in and an empty bag of street tacos later, Sam is completely knocked out on the couch, wrapped in the warmest of blankets. Just as the riot on screen was getting good, Sam's phone goes off. Being the nosy asshole that he is, Dean looks over at the screen to see the preview of the incoming message. His face drops as he reads it.

[Text] Eileen: **911 911 911**

Dean quickly reaches over to Sam and shakes him hard. "Sam, wake up! I think we gotta go," he says as he hands Sam his phone. 


	6. Chapter 6

_ "I don't understand, honey, the doctor has done the treatment dozens of times. He can help you-" _

_ "I understand that, mom, but I don't need it. Or want it, for that matter." _

_ "Your mom's right honey, it could be good for you. Good for us, as a family. Do you realize the burden it would lift from our shoulders during hunts if Dr. Wirls finally restores your hearing?" _

_ "...the burden?" Eileen echoes, taken aback by her parents' insistent stance on the subject. _

_ Suddenly the ghost they've been hunting appears right behind Eileen's parents.  _

_ "Look out!" she yells as she flings herself in between them and attempts to shoot it with rock salt. She misses and quickly it reappears right beside her, reaching into her chest and flinging her across the room and creates the start of an unforgivable migraine. _

~-~

 

The throbbing in her head feels exactly like the way her hands do when she tries to feel music through a speaker system. Only this time the vibrations seem appropriate to be made at a death metal concert and they carry unbearable pain. Eileen slowly gains the feeling in her hands as she tries to touch her surroundings and her eyes flutter open to focus on something, anything. Confused, she makes out that she's sitting on the ground. As she tries to get up, she realizes that she's heavily tied to the pillar she's leaning against. She catches her instinct to scream in panic and instead focuses on calming herself down and remembering what happened to her. 

_ I was captured?  _

_..Yeah? _

_And right now I'm in this storage unit?_

_Where did the ghost go?_

_WHY am I tied up?_

_What happened to mom and dad?_

_OH MY GOD ARE THESE NEEDLES IN ME?_

_OK SOMEONE IS TAKING MY BLOOD!_

_Wait, MOM AND DAD WHERE ARE THEY?_

As a million and one thoughts run through Eileen, she catches sight of a pair of young women through a broken window standing in another room to the left of her. She thinks twice about calling out to them and focuses her mind to try to read their lips as her hands work on rubbing the rope she's tied with against the pillar.

 _ **They're coming,**_ Eileen makes out from the first one, which Eileen notes as a thin brunette with an average height.

The girl is staring down at a phone. **_Their GPS shows that they're headed this way._**

The second one, with lighter brown hair and a taller body, takes the phone from the first to see for herself. She faces the other direction leaving Eileen clueless to what she is saying.

 _ **What? How am I supposed to know, I've never sent a real emergency text before! Who cares as long as it gets them here?**_ The second girl responds in frustration to whatever the taller one points out on her phone. 

 _Wait, that's my phone they have!_ Eileen catches on. Still not understanding the situation in front of her, Eileen begins to push against her restraints harder. She feels incredibly weak, almost near to passing out, but she wills her arms and legs to continue working. She looks around in an effort to find anything that can help her either find her parents or escape the dark room. She begins adjusting her body to see if there's anything on the other side of the pillar she could use. Finally moving enough to take a peak around its corner, Eileen gasps hard as she finds a rotting corpse hanging upside with the similar needles and tubes punctured into it. She realizes her mistake too late as she turns around and comes face to face with the shorter girl right in front of her, who appears to have crazy tattoos all over her face and body. Before she get a chance to react, the girl reaches her hand to touch her face.

"Go back to sleep, Princess," Eileen reads from the girl's snarling lips. "The party hasn't started yet."

As the girl's index finger makes contact with Eileen's forehead, the girl's tattoos and eyes light up to a magical blue.

 _Freaking djinns,_ Eileen thinks the last thought to herself before she falls back into her own personalized la-la land. 

 


	7. Chapter 7

They've been driving down through Nebraska for about two hours now. 

"Whattaya got, Sam?" Dean asks his brother in the passenger seat who immediately sobered up the moment Dean showed him his phone. 

"We should be there in about an hour and a half," he says, rechecking the GPS location his phone is locked on. 

"Sounds good," Dean says as he steps on the gas to get the engine to purr, letting his brother know that he's doing his part to get to Eileen as fast as they can. They were already zooming. "Any lead on the emergency?"

"I can't find anything. There've been a rise of missing people all along the road to California, though..."

Dean glances at his brother, who is now quiet as he focuses on whatever thoughts are forming in his head.

"Talk to me, Sam. What is it?" Dean said, bringing his little brother back into the now.

"Someone's been following her," Sam reveals his calculations. "A killer. Or a monster. Something that takes down bodies? There was a small spike in missing hikers around the Bay Area in Northern California about two weeks ago. Hardly noticeable if you weren't looking for it. But I got into her phone logs and it shows that once she started moving back West about two days ago, so did the BOLO reports." 

"Alright, so we can rule out ghosts, right? Unless she's carrying something that attached itself to?"

"Dean, I honestly have no idea," Sam says scrolling through his phone reading on the news information. "But whatever it is, I'm going to tear it to shreds."

Dean takes a moment to take his eyes off the road to look at his brother, to make sure he's alright. Sam, feeling his brother's gaze, turns up to make the eye contact. Dean sees his younger brother's determination masking a slight sliver of fear underneath it. He gives a nod at his brother in understanding and steps on the gas that much more. 

~-~

"It's a djinn," Sam says an hour later, looking from phone screen to phone screen as he's trying put all the different pieces of evidence together. "Not the off-shoot ones though, the original kind we hunted before. The kind that trapped you that one time a while back, remember?"

Dean tries not to. There are things that are easy lets go, but the feeling of being snatched from absolute bliss from the fulfillment of a complete family, especially after so much longing, is one that still leaves a metal taint in his mouth to this day. 

"Yeah, I remember," Dean says. "So they're feeding on blood, not fear, gotcha. But how do you know it's one of those and not the others? Not that it matters, they all go down the same way."

"Well, it turns out a couple of the missing people's bodies from a couple weeks ago in California have just been found a couple of days ago, but in the Wildlife Refuge in Wyoming. Completely drained of blood but no bite marks in any of the reports. Police reports have suspected radical medical practices done on them because of the needle incisions on their bodies. That sounds like the one way back when, right? And it would make sense with the timeline of their killings if the first batch of its victims are barely dropping now, given the rough time it takes for a djinn to drain its victim if it's feeling merciful... So, hopefully we have time to get to Eileen before-" Sam's voice trails off. He clears his throat and finishes that sentence with a repeated "before."

"Hey, Sam, don't worry about her, she's a tough chick and we're almost there anyhow. Now, I don't remember the stock but I think we're outta lamb's blood. So if it is a djinn you're going to hafta tell me where the nearest farm is."

Sam nods at what his older brother's saying, pushing out the invading thoughts of what can happen to Eileen if they're miscalculating anything. Effortfully, he starts thinking about the situation objectively, as if it's just another case they're working on, so he can act like the professional he is. 

"You good, Sam?" Dean asks from the driver's seat.

Sam nods in desperate affirmation for his own sake. "Yeah, let's get this son of a bitch."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Listen, this was just supposed to be a one-shot about sam and eileen hooking up, but i guess it evolved into a story on its own. pls lemme know what you think, any feedback is appreciated B)


	8. Chapter 8

_"Get off of me!" Eileen yells at the ghost that's finally gotten a hold of her. It won't seem to let go, and she can't shake it off. It already killed her father, and her mother is quickly bleeding out across the room._

_Its pale and disfigured face starts to lean in to go for its final kill._

_"I said-"_

 

_~-~_

"-GET OFF!" Eileen's eyes snap open to see the blurriest of familiar figures shaking her whole body awake.

"...Sam?" Eileen asks, knowing she's completely out of her mind. "What are-"

"Eileen!" she registers his pair of lips. "Eileen wake up! You.." She can't read anymore. Immediately her body feels as if she's been shot up with too much morphine and her eyes start to droop once again. She gets shaken again. "...Eileen!" she reads. "...you to fight this!" 

She remembers she was upset with Sam, but she can't remember why. But something about the word "fight" really triggers her adrenaline. As a hunter, she knows better than to ask twice. 

Just as she wills her eyes to focus once more, she sees Dean's body fling across the room and into the stack of cardboard boxes. 

"DEAN!" she sees Sam yell as he instinctively moves up to his brother. He takes an instinctive step toward him before he stops to turns back to Eileen, who's been trying to pick up all the details of the situation. Sam quickly moves behind the pillar she's tied to and starts cutting the rope. Just then, a brunette walks into her view and starts heading towards Dean's crippling body. With the blue markings, Eileen recognizes her as one of the djinns from before moving. Sam moves quickly and she feels the relief of pressure on her arms as soon as he gets through them. 

Just as Eileen is set free, she sees a shadow suddenly appear from behind them. 

"Sam!" she yells out, just as she sees him get kicked to the ground by the second djinn. His knife falls to the ground; a knife she assumes is covered in lamb's blood. 

 _Fucking perfect_! With arms so numb she wouldn't feel a bullet, Eileen lunges for the knife and attempts her tightest grip she can muster. She quickly turns to face a djinn who she thought would be behind her but to her surprise, neither paid any attention to her. She pushed the relief and offense to the side. Instead, she sees the closest djinn wrestling with Sam on the ground, who managed to kick the feet from under her. Meanwhile, she sees that Dean is on his knees at this point, completely affected by the glowing hand clutching his head.

Without thinking twice, Eileen holds the knife by its blade and throws it as hard as she can, hitting Dean’s djinn in the heart straight through her back.

She turns back to Sam within the same second, who’s now been placed in a chokehold. She smashes her foot hard against this djinn’s head as if she had the last kick of a penalty shootout. It didn't kill the djinn but it was enough to make her head bounce back and her grip to loosen, allowing Sam to slip out.Eileen moves to help Sam get on his feet. Sam starts getting up and turns his head quickly to Dean, as if reacting to being called.

Eileen sees Dean skid the blade he let go of when he was first flung around. The move happened so fast; Eileen was momentarily impressed by their synchronization. Without missing a beat, Sam turns to push the blade through the second djinn’s chest just as she was about to pounce on him once more. Eileen considered the scream she must have let out as her mouth turned to an anguished “o” of terror. Neither of the djinns ever expected her.

With both of the djinns dead, Eileen takes a moment to acknowledge their win. Everything moved so quickly, she's not sure it really happened. She turns to face the heaving Winchesters. The last thought she has is about how she thinks she can feel her blood sloshing through her head before she drops to the floor unconsciously.

 

~-~

 

_"Mmm, I don't think so, mom, this Buruburu won't take care of itself, ya'know? But I'll see what I can do. Okay gottagoloveyou -bye!" Eileen rushes into her Skype video-call before she quickly hangs up._

_"How're your parents?" Lillian asks, coming in from the theater foyer with a couple of chainsaws._

_"Good," Eileen sighed. "They still insist I come back home and continue the family business. They're worried I'll get myself hurt. But I can't go back to their Men of Letters headquarters." Eileen takes a chainsaw from Lillian. "Something about being out on the field, doing the grunt work, just feels so right to me."_

_"I understand", Lillian signs to her with her free hand. "You have always been capable of so much more than what others have thought."_

_"Thanks," Eileen smiles to her mentor. "Now, let's go scare this ghost to where it belongs," she says with a tug to start the chainsaw's deafening motor, or so it has been explained to her._

 

~-~

 

She can't focus on a single object. She instinctively leans up from the laying position she was in, but she quickly realizes the mistake that was. The room is blurry with silver metal and sterile white until finally, the blurriest of Sam Winchester comes in to her vision once again. 

"You again? Why are you so obsessed with me?" Eileen hears herself slur. Her head feels like a spinning top, and still yet, she manages to catch a tiny smile from the giant man. 

"Hey," Sam signs really big, trying to get her loopy eyes' attention. "Hey, Eileen. Focus." Unable to control her head, she finally lets it fall ungracefully back on the pillow, takes in a loud breath, and just focuses her energy into opening her eyes. Once she is finally able to focus on the individual tiles, she decides she can move her head again.

As she comes to face forward, she notices a couple of things: She is in a hospital, on a hospital bed. To her side is Sam Winchester, with an honest look of relief and concern. Dean stands at her feet, fidgeting and looking nervously into the hall. 

"...What..." Eileen tries to start a sentence but the drowsiness kicks in and her mouth feels like it can catch fire because of how dry it is.

"You were attacked by djinns," Sam signs slowly, struggling with putting signs to words. As Eileen musters her best effort to focus, she notices how much better he is at signing. Still a beginner, of course, but one who has put in a huge amount of effort to learn. 

She takes a moment to study his face, which is tainted with a deep somber. 

"Eileen, I'm so sorry," he continues signing. "It was my fault they went after you. It never should've happened. We found out those djinns were family of other djinns we killed before. They wanted revenge and-" Sam stops, choking on his words. At this point Eileen's mind has cleared enough of the fog away to focus on Sam's lips. "And they went after you," Sam continues, using only his verbal communication. "So that they could hurt Dean and me. We found your phone on them. They used you as bait because they knew I'd- we'd come." He unconsciously reaches for her hand and holds it, desperately wanting to radiate the regret he feels. "I am so, so sorry, Eileen."

Eileen tries to clear her sandpaper throat. Dean reacts and reaches for the water cup that was near him. 

"Hold up," he says, handing it over. "Here ya go." He holds it up to her lips and she accepts his act of service. After she's had enough he moves the cup away, but not before catching her attention with a slight wave. "Eileen, you saved us back there. You saved my life. We wanted to come to apologize for the mess but I also wanted to say 'thank you'," he says with his fingers moving out from his chin. "You were drugged out and still an amazing hunter. The way you just, oh man-" Dean unconsciously mimicked her head kick before he reminded himself about the seriousness. "You're one of a kind, Eileen, and we'll never forget that." Dean's lips are moving but Eileen understands he's speaking for both of the Winchesters. "If there's anything we could ever do for you," Dean continues, "please let us know." And with that, Dean looks over at Sam, who understands what his brother is saying, and nods for self-affirmation. 

"Yeah. Please." Sam's lips move subtly; Eileen is sure he whispered it. His throat bobs like he's clearing it and then he straightens up. "Eileen, have a good one," Sam says as he blinks back his emotions and regains his professional facade. She just realizes that they were both wearing their suits. Suddenly a nurse comes in, looking surprised that she's awake, and Sam and Dean start to make their way out. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've had some weird dreams about djinns because I've thought about this story too much. But in there Dean and Sam actually died. Which is funny because I'm honestly a fan of tragedy so I'm kinda surprised I didn't kill anyone :/


End file.
